New New Year's resolution: More churros... Taco Bell strategically timed up the anti-meat menu. Customers demand healthy for January's "lose-19-in-2019" weight goals. For the inventor of the "Beefy Nacho Loaded Griller Burrito," a plant-based menu gets them in the store (even if cheese is in its DNA).

2. Ford totals its awkward "Chariot" shuttle van

“The City of Tomorrow”... That was the Ford CEO's super originally titled keynote at 2018's Consumer Electronics Show (CES). He framed Ford as an urban mobility beast. But that was last year. Ford shares just slipped because now it's closing down its biggest urban star -- Chariot:

It's a ride-hail van that acts like a bus

Chariot slowly hauled itself into 5 US cities + London.

It felt like a $65M textbook -- It taught Ford something, it didn’t get opened much, and now it’s been tossed to never be read again

"Mobility" & "Micro-transit" are easy rebrands... They'reharder strategies. Transportation in cities should be “micro”: akaagile, smart, connected to the web, and within 1 block of a Starbucks. Chariot fit that formula, but failed. Ford needs better with its bike share program and e-scooter startup it just bought (Spin).

The Takeaway: Pickup trucks are Ford's sugar daddies... They make over 100% of Ford’s profits, while succulent-sized small cars and its Euro division lose $$ (now Ford's cutting jobs there). “Ford Smart Mobility” was supposed to be its 2nd core division for the future, but it's got problems in the present.

3. Target vs. Macy's: A tale of two Christmases

Tarjay's on the good list... A surge in holiday shoppers powered Target sales up 5.7% over the holidays. Even better: More shoppers spent more per checkout. Too lazy to get out of your car? Curbside pickup sales jumped 60%. Despite all that goodness, Target shares slipped 3%.

Blame Macy's... Sales there actually fell 1% from the same period last year, dropping the stock 18% Thursday. That's even though consumer spending has been living its best life. Malls keep struggling, and investors worry that may drag down Macy's retail cousins like Target.

The Takeaway: Retail's not dying -- Bad retail's dying... (we've said it a million times). Old school malls are physically and emotionally empty inside, but some retailers are thinking creatively enough to beat that trend. They're the not-bad retail. Here's how Target's one of them: